Storage-tank for liquid fuel



(No Modl.)

- O. A. KING.-

STORAGE TANK FOR LIQUID FUEL.

No. 471,615. Patented Mar. 29, 1892.

YV WiT MENTOR.

UNITED STATES ATENTV Enron.

CHARLES A. KING, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.-

STORAGE-TANK FOR LIQUID FUEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 471,615, dated March 29,1892. Application filed May 16,1891- $erial No. 393,061. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. KING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Storage-Tanks for Liquid Fuel and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a side elevation of a tank fitted with my appliances in a manner well calcu vpointed out in the claims.

The object of this invention is to provide means for automatically confining the liquid within the tank in case of fire; also, to permit of the free inlet of air and outlet of vapor or gas when required.

This device is more particularly designed for storing liquid-fuel oils, but, as will be readily comprehended, is well adapted to the storage of any volatile liquid or in any case where it is desirable to prevent a circulation within the tank and reduce evaporation.

Heretofore tanks of this description have been allowed unrestricted circulation, which in warm weather results in a high degree of evaporation. The vapor arising therefrom, being unrestrained, rises upward in an approximately perpendicular line, and, mingling withthe atmosphere, forms a column of highlyexplosive compound extending from the outlet of. the tank some distance upward, and beyondrwhich extends a column of cold damp atmosphere, which respectively form a prim= ing ormagazine to the tank and an excellent electric conductor by which during a thunder or electric storm lightning is attracted and, traversing the same in a downward direction,

ignites the combustible vapor, having there-' by in the manner described caused numberless terrific explosions and disastrous fires. All of the above-cited objections in and defects of storage-tanks are obviated'and remedied and absolute safety insured by the use of the automatic relief-valve, which forms an important feature of this invention and to which reference in detail will be hereinafter made. Other valuable results are also obtained by tanks of the above description being provided with the automatic arrangement for preventing the escape of liquid and the consequent nursing of fire by the saturation of wood 01' other combustible material with which it Would'be liable to contact by reason of the gage-glass becoming broken by excessive heat arising from a confiagration in the immediate vicinity.

Special reference to the means by which the above-mentioned results are accomplished will be hereinafter made in detail.

In the drawings, A represents a tank of or dinary construction; 13, the vent or relief-pipe; O, the relief-valve; D, the fiame-arrester; E, the bonnet or hood for protecting the relief- Valve fromthe weather.

F is an ordinary gage-glass for'the purpose of indicating the height of the liquid in the tank.

A and A are valves introduced into the gageglass fittings between the said gage-glass meeting the valve=levers together for the purv pose of actuating them simultaneously.

H is a weight attached to the connectingrod or pitman for the purpose of closing the valves automatically in case of fire.

9 is a stop or hook, preferably formed integral with the connecting-rod G, and is de-' signed to receive the weight and relieve the valves when closed. A shelf or support may weight H.

be provided below the weight and adapted to receive the same, thereby accomplishing the same result.

The dotted lines in Fig. 1 denote the positions assumed by the various parts when the valves are closed.

J is a hook formed integral with the connecting-rod for the purpose of attaching the A chain or cable may be substituted for the connecting-rod without altering the invention.

I is the safety-hook and is provided with a soft-soldered or fusible joint 4. The upper end of said hook is secured to the top of the tank or other suitable'place by the aid of any well-known means of fastenin g-such as bolts, screws, rivets, &c.-and is designated in the drawings by the'figu-re 7. The lower end of the said hook is provided with a lug or projection 20, for the purpose of engaging with the slot 3 in the rod G, thereby sustaining the weight H and retaining the valves A and A in an open position.

The gage-glass is provided with the usual fittings and is connected with the tank in precisely the same manner that they are connected to steam-boilers, which is thought to be too well understood by those skilled in the art to which it appertains to require a detailed description. The-valves A and A are introduced into the fittings in exactly the same manner as the ordinary stop-cock, and are preferably of the kind known as straightway valves. The relieflvalve O communicates with the tank through the pipe B,which is connected in the usual manner. A chamber D is inserted into the relief-pipe between the relief-valve and the tank, and within said chamberare disposed pieces of wire of small diameter running lengthwise of and terminating somewhat below the top of said chamher. The said chamber may be of any desired shape and dimensions, the object of the device being to form a series of small orifices through which the gas or vapor is forced to pass in order to escape from the tank, thereby formingaflame-arrester after the fashion of the well-known miners safety-lamp. Therelief-pipe is designed to be conducted away to a point out of reach of the flames arising. from the burning of buildings in the vicinity or otherwise; but in case, from any cause whatever, the escaping gas should bocome ignited, it would become cooled to that extent in passing through the arrester that the flames would either be extinguished or burn harmlessly at the top, thereby precluding the possibility of the flames passing down the pipe and causing an explosion of the gas within the tank.

The gage-glass F is surrounded with an air-tight shield or jacket N, which is pro vided with a front of glass or other suitable transparent material N, the object of the shield being to protect the gage-glass, so as to insure the fusing of the joint inthe safetyhook before the said glass shall become Vention will be readily seen. would not bind myself to any particular conbroken with the heat, and to otherwise shield it from accidental breakage. 1

Referring to Fig. 3, the relief-valve is shown in section. Openings T and T are formed in the sides of the body of the valve and flaps or lids P and P are pivoted or hinged in any preferred manner so as to cover and rest upon the seats K and K The lid P being hinged upon the inside, as will readily be seen, will act as an inlet-valve, and will be raised from its seat during the process of emptying or drawing the liquid from the tank. It is equally as evident that in filling the tank the liquid as it is introduced will condense the air or vapor contained therein' until the lid P is raised from its seat, thereby forming an automatic outlet for the same. It is evident that by loading the outlet-valve any desired pressure may be retained within. the tank.

That the construction of the valve may be greatly varied without departing from my in- Therefore I struction, but desire to make them in any approved shape.

While it is obvious that the seats may be constructed in an upright position or otherwise, and the flaps or lids held in position by the aid of springs, yet I pefer the construction shown, in which the valve-seats assume an angle, thereby closing the flaps or lids by gravitation. It is also obvious that the same results may be accomplished by constructing an outlet andan inlet valve separately and attaching them to different pipes or tubes;

but I prefer the construction shown on account of its compactness.

The cut-off arrangement may be operated at any time by simply detaching the hook or lug 20 from the slot 3.

The operation of thecut-off arrangement in case of fire is as follows: When the temperature shall rise to a suificient degree to melt IOC or fuse the joint 4, the Weight II is released by the parting of the safety-hook I and, closing the valves, prevents the escape of the liquid.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is

1. The combination, with a storage-tank provided with a gage having an airtight inclosing-jacket, connections between the ends of the gage and the tank, and a valve in each of said connections and in vertical align? ment, of parallel levers attached to the respective valves, a bar coupling the ends of said levers and carrying a weight, said bar being provided with aslot, a two-part rod con.-

nected by a fusible joint and provided at its lower end with a hook engaging the slot in the coupling-bar, and adapted to normally retain the latter in elevated p.osition,substan tially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The herein-described storage-tank,con-

sistiug'of the tank proper, a gage having an airtight jacket, connections between the ends of the gage and the tank, a valve in each of and a chamber interrupting said pipe and 10 said connections and in vertical alignment, provided with a filling, all arranged substanparallel levers attached to the respective tially as and for the purpose set forth. valves, a bar coupling the ends of the said In testimony whereof I affix my signature in levers and carrying a weight, a two-part rod presence of two witnesses.

connected by a fusible joint, and provided at CHARLES A. KING. its lower end with a hook engaging a slot in Witnesses: the bar,a relief-pipe projecting from the tank CHARLES C. POWERS,

and provided with inlet and outlet valves, RALPH A. PALMER. 

